tracking sandy. the category 2 hurricane slams into cuba and could develop into a major weather event that impacts the east coast. champagne blitz, the candidates shift into high gear focusing on swing states with less than two weeks to go before the election. >> panda power. san francisco's pablo sandoval makes world series history, pressing three home runs in a game one victory. >> this is the cbs morning news for thursday, october 25th, 2012. good morning, everybody. good to be with you. i'm terrell brown. hurricane sandy is lashing islands in the caribbean this morning. the storm is threatening the east coast with tropical storm warnings and watches already up in florida. sandy made landfall overnight. it is now a category 2 storm

with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour. sandy is moving northeast at about 15 miles per hour. while forecasters don't really know where sandy will end up, they are already saying it could develop into a major weather event. as sandy pushes toward the united states, it is expected to take one of two tracks. it could swirl up the mid-atlantic state posing no serious danger but bringing strong winds and waves or merge with a cold front creating a monster storm that slams into the northeast by the beginning of next week. >> that storms a new lou, which could be a major nor'easter that could mean extremely heavy snows well inland across the applachians, maybe western pennsylvania, very heavy rains along the coast and some very strong winds. >> cue aba was the latest island to get in sandy's way. officials ordered at least 55 evacuations many from low-lying areas. santa could dump up to 20 inches of rain on cuba and deliver a storm surge up to six feet.

on wednesday, sandy crest the shore in jam a ka as a category 1 storm with winds topping out at 80 o miles per hour. the storm is blamed for killing an elderly man when a bowel boulder crushed his home. sandy sent hundreds of people fleeing to shelters. some refused to evacuate fearing their homes would be burglarized. >> they are on the internet trying to convince the people to leave the streets to come to this shelter. >> sand outer band swept across hey tichlt a woman was killed when a swollen river swept her away. sandy's effect can already been seen in the sunshine state. the storm is delivering high winds and rough surf to south florida. if sandy increases in size, coastal south florida could see tropical winds as early as tonight. >> there is still a chance sandy moves out into the atlanta but forecasters say that skin narrow is becoming more and more unlikely. even if the storm stays off the

shore, the east coast is still likely to feel some of its effects. a fast-moving wind-driven wild fire in southern colorado has damaged at least 14 homes. it broke out tuesday 100 miles south of denver. 400 residents were forced to evacuate. more than 2000 acres have burned but no injuries are reported. >> president obama is in the midst of a 40-hour coast to coast campaign marathon. stopped to vote in his home state of illinois in his campaign blitz includes a stop in ohio. that state's 18 electoral votes may well hold the key to the election. mitt romney is there today as well. susan mcginnis is in washington with more on all this. good morning to you. >> good morning. the candidates are spending every minute they can in battleground states that hold those crucial electoral votes. meanwhile, some comments by a republican senate candidate have interrupted both campaigns. 13,000 people packed a las vegas park for a late night rally

featuring president obama and katy perry. ♪ >> it is part of a 40-hour, six-state campaign swing. >> we are pulling an all-nighter, no sleep. if you are not going to sleep, you might as well be in vegas. >> reporter: the president campaigns in florida and va v.a. he will vote in his hometown of chicago and finish the night in ohio. >> ohio could well be the place that elects the next president of the united states. >> reporter: mitt romney will focus entirely on ohio with rallies in cincinnati and columbus. he says he is gaining ground in the polls because he believes the president has no plon for a second ternl. >> they have been unable to describe what they are going to do to get our economy going again. that's why on november 6th, for a press without ideas, we are going to put him out of office. >> reporter: the latest "time"

magazine poll gives the president a five-point lead. >> in the middle of a campaign blitz, both candidates jump into a controversy over comments made bya indiana senate candidate about rape and pregnancy. >> even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something god intended to happen. >> he says he was talking about life, not rape. on "the tonight show" with jay leno, president obama said he really didn't know what murdoch was talking about. >> rape is rape. it is a crime. so these distinctions about rape don't make too much sense to me, don't make any sense to me. >> i hope you will join me in supporting rick mourdoct. >> his campaign said he disagrees with what he said but stands by his endorsement. >> he is refusing to apologize and said he spoke from his heart

and the deepest levels of his faith. thank you so much. the obama administration es account of the attack on libya has become a hot button campaign issue. the white house says a series of state department e-mails sent to the white house two hours after the attack is just one piece of the evidence. four americans died in the benghazi attack, including ambassador christopher stevens. one said an islamist militant group that claimed responsibility plays into republican claims that the administration knew it was a terrorist attack, even though it was saying the attack appeared to be tied to a protest. yesterday, secretary of state, hillary clinton, said a facebook posting is not conclusive proof. >> posting something on facebook is not in and of itself evidence and i think it just underscores how fluid the reporting was at the time and continued for sometime to be.

>> a tune easeian man was arrested. his lawyer says he was innocent. the united states backed a four-day truce in syria but that doesn't mean fighting will stop. the u.n. arab league proposed the cease-fire beginning tomorrow. the syrian government say they haven't signed on. coming up on the morning news, on a thursday morning, the student debt crisis. millions of young americans face an uncertain future amid mountains of debt from college loans thichlts t loans. this is the cbs morning news. trail. this is the "cbs morning news". n and stop the damage with humira, adalimumab. for many adults with moderate to severe ra, humira is clinically proven to help relieve pain and stop joint damage. so you can treat more than just the pain. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma,

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it's eb. a new study says the cost of a college education continues to rise. the average price for a foush-year public university including room and board is almost $18,000. for a private college, almost $40,000. anthony mason loobs at what this means for students and what the

presidential candidates plan to do about it. >> reporter: 24-year-old kevin stump has $18,000 in student debt and sees it clouding his future. >> when am i going to buy a house? can i buy a house? >> you feel like you are already behind the eight ball. >> i'm drowning. >> reporter: student debts pass all other forms of consumer debt. >> they are saying it is a student debt. it is a crisis. nobody is saying, here is how we deal with it. > reporter: more than 90% of student loans are made by the federal government. >> millions of young people are getting better deals on pell grants. >> reporter: president obama has more than doubled spending on pell grants, which unlike loans don't have to be repaid. they are the main aid for low income students. he has proposed a billion dollar race to the top contest to reward states for reform that cut college tuition. the president also supports debt forgiveness, forgiving a loan balance after a debtor has paid 10% of their income for 25 years. >> don't expect the government

to forgive the debt you take on. recognize, you get to pay it back. >> reporter: governor romney wants to reverse what he calls mr. obama's nationalization of the student loan. he argues getting private lenders back in the process would make it more efficient, he would tighten eligibility on l pell grants refocusing on students that need them the most. >> reporter: you are not out of this debt cycle yet. >> no. i am very much accumulating more. >> reporter: kevin is looking to borough another $2,000 to pay for a master's degree to get a better paying job to pay off his debt. that's another reason the crisis keeps ballooning. >> it is now a trillion dollar story and counting. >> reporter: economist, max wolf, says it is fast becoming a murder on the economy. >> you figure out a way to make education affordable again or go back to having a vast underclass, which is uneducated and more cut off from opportunity which has social and political implications that are neither pretty nor desirable.

>> it has become a catch 22. not having a degree in this economy is almost a sentence of poverty. on the other hand, paying for the degree can sink you into poverty. anthony mason, cbs news, new york. up next, your thursday morning weather. in sports, the tigers can't contain the panda. san francisco, a performance for the history books in game one of the world series. when it comes to toilet paper, there's no such thing as too soft. i know what i like. i like feeling both clean and pampered.

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here is a look at the weather. new york, 65 degrees. miami, 83%. afternoon thunderstorms this chicago, 75 degrees. afternoon thunderstorms in dallas. 79. 82 in los angeles, sunny. let's check your national forecast. tropical storm alerts are up along the east coast of florida as hurricane sandy moves towards the bahamas. sunny, warm and dry in the deep south and mid-atlantic states. showers and thunderstorms will extend from eastern kansas to the great lakes. rain could change from snow to eastern nebraska. the southwest and pacific northwest will be seasonal. new research suggests aspirin can help fight colon cancer. patients with the gene mutation who regularly took aspirin lived longer than those that didn't. the study also said it made no dmifr difference in patients that had didn't have the mutation microsoft revealed windows

8, designed to run on p.c.s, tablets and smart phones. nut operating system is a radical remake of windows, the biggest in 17 years. it comes at a time when microsoft needs to show it has the technological expertise to be a major player in the future of computing. an optimistic report from china on fuel stocks in asia. tokyo's nikkei rose more than 1% hitting a four-week closing high hang seng gained .25. the dow jones was down 25 points at the clothes of wednesday trading, nasdaq lost eight. five years after the collapse of the housing market, the federal government is suing bank of america for alleged mortgage fraud. they accused the bank of selling unqualified mortgages to fannie mae and freddie mac through countrywide financial corporation. the civil suit claims those sales cost taxpayers more than $1 billion in lawsuits. banks of america said it

acted responsibilitily to address mortgage issues a former goldman sachs executive will serve a two-year prison term for trading corporation. he was sentenced for leaking to a hedge fund manager and ordered to pay a $5 million fine. >> the world's longest nonstop airlines flight will be canceled permanently. it takes 18 hours for a singapore airline between newark, new jersey and singapore, a distance of 9500 miles. the airline says the flight will be replaced by a more cost efficient service that stops in germany or japan. in sports, game one of the world series is in the books. the history books, that is. san francisco joins going for their secretary title opening up versus the tigers of detroit. first innings, pablo sandoval goes deep to put san francisco on top early, 1-0. the giants also doing it with blanco's diving catch in the

third. bottom half of the frame, sandoval again with a homer to left field to make it 4-0, giants. the man that we call kung fu panda comes to the plate again in the fifth. this time he knocks it out to center field, third homer of the game! sandoval powers the giants to an 8-3 win in game one. even tigers manager, jim leyland, had to tip his cap to the panda. >> you can't sit up here and say what he did tonight was a fluke. it was unbelievable. the guy had one of those unbelievable world series nights he is going to be talking about for years. >> sandoval is the fourth player in baseball history to hit three homers in a world series game. joining the likes of babe ruth who did it in two different world series. reggie jackson and albert pujols. detroit looks to tie it up in game two tonight. whethn we come back, the deh toll from the meningitis outbreak rises, we are learning more about the questionable practices of the company behind

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then rinse clean away leaving a cool tingling that just won't quit extreme clean from aquafresh. take the feeling of clean to the extreme. mission district after shots were fired at an undercover police officer. plus: getting ready to strie hurricane sandy sets her sis on the east coast. why this storm could be a real hallon monster and panda- monium. a blowout performance by the home team after a record 3 home runs y pablo sandoval. are the gias ready for game 2? join us for cbs 5 eyewitness news this morning... beginn,

here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. in washingtortly a look at the weather. washington, partly sunny, 76. atlanta rs moechltly sunny, 80. afternoon thunderstorms in st. louis, 80. mostly cloudy in denver, 37. seattle, 50 degrees. the investigation of the meningitis outbreak centers on the new england compounding center, a pass mass pharmaceutical business. tim axlerod reports. >> reporter: state officials received a complaint last march about the company that produced these tainted steroids but health officials in massachusetts tell us, they conducted what's called an offsite inspection, a review of

documents. dr. madeline biandalilo is leading the investigation. >> it is apparent they were not following licensing regulations despite their obligation to do so. >> reporter: the fda has released a list of any of cc's customers, they include somewhere near 3,000 doctors and hospitals around the country. one denver area hospital filed a cease and desist letter in 2011 alleging the company sent compounding drugs into colorado without valid prescriptions. in 2004, state and federal authorities inspected necc after what was called an adverse event involving methyl prednisone acetate. necc is a family business that started in 1988. greg nigliaro holds four titles, vice president, secretary, treasure and director. necc is one of a dozen companies own by the family.

dr. douglas runs one of them, medical sales management, which oversees the sales force for necc. >> this investigation extends to necc's business practices and the environmental conditions surrounding the business, including the presence of a nearby recycling center that shares ownership with necc. >> reporter: the recycling big, conigliaro industries operates in the same business at necc. in 2003, it was cited for violations including accumulation of combustibles creating a hazard. in a statement, the necc says throughout its history the company has demonstrated a good faith intention to operate in compliance with the requirements of its license. coming up after your local news on cbs this morning, boosting your brain through exercise. i'm terrell brown, this is the cbs morning news. nyquil (stuffy): hey, tylenol. you know we're kinda like twins.

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mother than a decade after the september 11th attacks an organization that pays tribute to fallen firefighter more than a decade after the 9/11 attacks, an organization is still helping others. ben tracy tells us about a wounded veteran that owes his successful recovery to this group. >> i remember waking up that morning and having the worst gut-check feeling i have had in afghanistan. >> reporter: two years ago lance corporal juan dominguez was in afghanistan with the marines and stepped on a roadside bomb. >> i took the blast for the whole squad. ways able to see my legs and see what bad shape they were in. it was then i knew i would never walk again for sure. >> reporter: dominguez was 26 facing a life he needed help to do basic tasks. >> wiping, cleaning me, your whole man hood is stripped from you.

you revert back to a baby. >> reporter: during his grueling recovery from his injuries, he realized everything in his small townhouse was do narrow and too high. >> i can't reach the microwave. >> there are more than 50 triple or quadruple amputees from the wars in iraq or afghanistan. the u.s. government gives them $65,000 to build or modify a home. it often costs several times that. that has led to a new mission for the tunnel to towers foundation. it began after 9/11 to honor new york firefighter steven siller who ran through the brooklyn battery tunnel to the twin towers and gave his life trying to save others. his brother, frank siller is the foundation's chairman and says they will build 11 new homes for wounded veterans this year. >> they want their own life. these are americans that paid a big price. the houses have to be designed for them to live comfortably, not just today but for the rest of their lives. >> reporter: with private

donations, they built this $600,000 home for dominguez in california where he wanted to live. >> tuck them against the walls. it will be fine. >> reporter: the house has an elevator and an ipad that allows him to control the lighting, the shades and open the front door. >> this is my favorite feature of the house. >> the microwave. >> reporter: everything is now within reach. >> you push that and the cabinets come down. >> reporter: he even has room to practice with his band. dominguez plans to eventually raise a family with his new wife, alexis. >> this house was just a sheer blessing from god. >> reporter: allowing him to not be just grateful for being alive but to also truly live. ben tracy, cbs news, los angeles. coming up after your local news on cbs this morning, the presidential candidates hit the campaign trail to fight for voters in battleground states today. we will get reaction from former

mississippi governor, hailey barber. former secretary of state, colin powell, reveals which presidential candidate he will support and dallas mavericks owner, mark cuban joins us in studio 57. for now, that will do it for the morning news for this thursday. as always, appreciate you watching. i'm terrell brown. take care, everybody! have a great day! everybody. have a great day. ,,,,

and i'm michelle griego. tis 4:-- >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald. good morning. it's thursday, october 25. i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm michelle griego. time now 4:30. we'll check the weather lawrence. how's it looking? >> a lot of clouds. still sprinkles showing up around the bay area. if you are heading out, be careful, the roads may be slick. but a promise